


On a Crescendo

by Bremmatron33



Series: One Mech's Junk... [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-05-01 22:53:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5224079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bremmatron33/pseuds/Bremmatron33
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus can't sleep, neither can Knock Out. One of them us very drunk and looking for a little comfort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On a Crescendo

**Author's Note:**

> Not apart of EITW, honestly I could come up with a billion stories backstory stories for Knock Out this one involves cuddling.  
> Also if you never really cared about the tiny kreo transformers you might not know that Knock Out was supposedly also a terrible weapons designer which since I love viewing Knock Out as sort of a Renaissance man of things adds just one more thing Magnus would have to worry about.

Knock Out hummed softly as he walked through the Nemesis the empty halls echoing unknown noises. It was late and with everyone working hard on repairing the city all of the other mechs were fast asleep after a grueling day. Times like this, when there was nothing to keep his processor on were the worst for Knock Out. It had been impossible for him to slip into recharge so despite the chill making its way through the halls Knock Out continued to wander. He had always been restless at night well who was he kidding he was restless at all hours of the cycle. It was a medic’s curse. Always begging for a quiet moment and then when one was granted, having no idea how to use it so they beg for work to take the emptiness away. Knock Out was not as bad as most, his servos didn’t twitch as he waited for the next mech to make their way into his tent. He had never once squandered all of his medical supplies just to make the phantom screams of the cycle before ebb just enough...for just a moment of peace. Surprising enough despite his actions on a certain human body snatcher and many many threats Knock Out was not even the type to get so mind numbingly bored that he forced himself to get “creative” with his patients. Enemies didn’t count.

No Knock Out put all of his free time into himself. Spending his quiet days buffing and painting and waxing and polishing. Cycle after cycle should he need it, and he often did. He always needed to look perfect, he always needed to be alluring and desirable so if that meant stripping each flawed coat of paint off till his metal was brittle then so be it. He needed to be perfect. It was less about beauty but only slightly less, looking good always makes someone feel amazing that was undeniable. It was about intimidation.

Look at him, not even a scratch! No mech wants to put up a fight with someone so perfect, so unfazed, so unaffected by the world around them. Seeing as he had spent a great portion of the morning working on himself there was nothing else for him to do thus the wandering. He missed his own ship he always had something to occupy his mind there. There were also four other very warm very needy somethings that would probably keep him from needing to occupy his processor in the first place. Knock Out hugged himself tightly and sighed. It was best not to think about the other Stunticons, they were obliviously happy in storage and with there being no chance of the Autobots just letting him bring them home that was where they would be staying. Besides thinking about them only reminded him of Breakdown and that was never good for him.

After walking the entire Nemesis three times and still having nothing to do Knock Out went to the med bay to work. There were plenty of things that needed to be done and in all honesty he was tired of staring at the atrocity that was Ultra Magnus’ servo. He was sure Ratchet did his best with what he had but if that was the Autobot medics best then Knock Out did not want to see his worst. Of course scavenging had never been an Autobot skill and it was hard to learn when you already had skillful desperate Decepticons picking spots clean. Still as a medic of any faction it was always good to be adaptive and well Knock Out had learned that Ratchet really wasn’t good at that. Knock Out didn’t hold it against him though, no medic was good at everything but that disaster had to go even if it took him all night. In the safety of his med bay Knock Out sat down accessed his files and set to work drawing out the blueprints for Ultra Magnus’ new servo.

Ultra Magnus was running his routine check of the Nemesis, it was his fourth one that night with no change but there was no knowing what could happen with a Decepticon on board. Although Ultra Magnus had taken Bumblebee’s concerns to spark and had let the medic do as he pleased without constant supervision that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to check up on Knock Out constantly and without warning just in case. He hadn’t caught the medic doing anything the past twelve times but he was ready for when the Con finally showed his true colors.

He could hear noise coming from the med bay, humming maybe singing or music, it must have been Knock Out. Magnus evened his steps as he neared the door. Knock Out had dealt living with with mechs like Soundwave so it was almost impossible to actually catch the young medic off guard but Magnus was determined since he knew it was the only way to catch the Con in the act. The act of what Magnus couldn’t imagine but knowing the rumors about the medic Magnus was sure it would be something awful. All he had to do was be careful, not make any noise, and wait. He waited outside the med bay doors for almost ten minutes before wedging his digitips between the two panels and wrenching them open forcefully. The resulting bang startled Knock Out and even caused the medic to scream in fright and toss whatever he had been working on square at Magnus’ chest.

“I CAUGHT YOU, NOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!” Seeing no one but the Autobot leader standing in the doorway Knock Out curled in on himself and vented deeply in an attempt to calm his surging spark.

Magnus bent down and picked up whatever Knock Out had thrown at him, he couldn’t tell what the mass of machinery was supposed to be. Some strange gun, a murderous drone, the possibilities were endless.

“Why did you break the door I gave you the code?” Knock Out had calmed himself down and was immediately angry not only did he not appreciate the jump scare but now thanks to Magnus he was going to have to start all over on the damn servo.

“You’re avoiding the question Knock Out, what are you doing in here?” Honestly Magnus was getting worse and worse with his surprise inspections.

“I AM WORKING, and I don’t appreciate this new tactic Ultra Magnus.”

Magnus moved closer and grabbed at Knock Out, “And what are you working on so late, what is this?” Magnus held up the now dented servo, suspicion and anger in his voice. Knock Out looked up at Magnus with an outraged expression. The leader was generating quite a bit of heat and his optics were fuzzy.

“Are you drunk?”

“Of course not now answer the question!” That was a lie he was very drunk which was unusual for him but it had been a long day and Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Arcee had asked him and he had said yes. He might of let them push him a little too far but there was no way he was going to let the Con know that.

“What do you think it is Ultra Magnus?” Knock Out felt a twinge of pain as Magnus’ digits tightened around his wrist.

“DO NOT THINK YOU CAN MAKE A FOOL OF ME! Is it a bomb? Some primitive creature honed to devour Autobot sparks? I’m sure with your reputation it could be anything!”

Knock Out had to give the mech points for creativity but what was this supposed reputation, as far as Knock Out was concerned the only reputation he had built up for the Autobots was that he was a coward who obsessed over his looks.

“Believe me Magnus I’m not even going to bother since you’re doing such a good job of it all on your own!” Knock Out pulled the blueprints of the table with his free servo and slapped them against Ultra Magnus’ chest. “Now let me go.” Magnus reluctantly let go of Knock Out’s wrist to view the the blueprints and was more than a little surprised thanks to his intoxication to find a detailed diagram of his own servo.

“Why are you working on something like this so late at night?” Knock Out scoffed as he rubbed at his wrist.

“I’m sorry Magnus I wasn’t aware that all of my work projects needed a specifically scheduled time.” Knock Out plucked the defect servo from Magnus’ claw and tossed it into the small smelting pot to reclaim the wasted metal. Magnus wasn’t too happy with his decision.

“WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!” He tried to grab the medic again but Knock Out ducked out of the way.

“BECAUSE IT’S JUNK NOW I THREW IT AT YOU REMEMBER AND IF YOU THINK I’M GOING TO BUILD YOU ANOTHER ONE IF YOU KEEP GRABBING AT ME THEN YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN!” Magnus backed off. Knock Out huffed and went back to his work doing his best to ignore Magnus who was standing stoically in the corner keeping watch.

Magnus knew he should have just left after this point but his peds refused to move so he waited and watched as the young doctor started over. He watched Knock Out look over the pieces that he hadn’t used yet. He watched him check them off silently in his mind before loading the replicator with more materials. He watched as the doctor added other powders to make the metal stronger and rust resistant. He watched as Knock Out diligently made every minuscule piece that went into crafting a servo and he watched as the doctor’s beautiful servos worked. Transfixed as they twisted and curled, the sharp tips picking and placing parts with the utmost care and precision. He soon found his mind wandering, fantasizing about those delicate servos. The places they could go, the spots they could reach, the feelings they would stir as they plucked at taut wires and scratched and skittered along bare protoform. Magnus knew he was far too impaired to be here.

It should be illegal to have such gorgeous mechs like Knock Out doing anything that involved them being this close to Magnus’ person or any mechs person because why would Magnus wish such awkwardness on anyone. And Magnus did mean gorgeous mechs, he had met many handsome and beautiful mechs in his time, the Autobots had many and Magnus had dealt with them just fine. Most of team prime was made up of good looking mechs and their presence had never once hindered Magnus from doing his job but that was the difference between good looking mechs and gorgeous ones. With a good looking mech you can acknowledge that they are good looking and move on with one’s life but the gorgeous ones their presence never leaves the processor. Now Magnus was a strong proud mech so most days the Con’s beauty did nothing to effect his thoughts but even on the cycles when he wasn’t inebriated there were moments. Small things like as he handed in a beautifully written report, as he hummed while he processed the synthen, as he laughed at some terrible joke Bumblebee made, or as he leaned in close and stared up at Magnus with his shimmering garnet optics probably knowing full well the effect it had on the Autobot leader. It was those moments that made Magnus’ spark jolt and crackle and it took every ounce of Magnus’ willpower to not scream and toss Knock Out out the airlock and back into whatever siren rift he was forged from.

“Isn’t there something better you could be doing right now Ultra Magnus? You are going to hate yourself tomorrow if you don’t get a good recharge in.”

“Nope.” Knock Out shook his helm exasperated by Magnus stubbornness and went back to screwing something in place.

“You know if I wanted to kill any of you I could have done it already. I’m the only one who knows how to make the fuel.”

“I watch you when you do that.” Knock Out nodded mocking Magnus under his breath. “Are you telling me that you have attempted to poison us before while I was watching you?”

“No! Can you please leave me to work in peace!”

“Absolutely not! Not after that threat!”

There was no winning with Magnus when he was sober so why did Knock Out think drunk Magnus would be any better. Hopefully the mech would sober up realize how much of an aft he was being and just leave.

Honestly how did the other Decepticons get any work done with Knock Out around was the idea of Breakdown getting in the way really a strong enough deterrent or perhaps those stories Wheeljack had heard were actually true. It was impossible to know for sure but Magnus found that he didn’t want to believe them but at the same time he did because it made it easier. Things like this didn’t happen to mechs like him cross-faction crushes turned mechs even some of the most loyal mechs into traitors and Magnus was not going to let that happen.

However….Knock Out had changed sides. He had chosen the Autobots and had been consistently helping them for months now. He stayed quiet and did as he was told even as he griped about the smallest things. Still he wasn’t just meekly following along, Magnus could always see the fire behind his optics and almost hear the words he swallowed at every meeting. He wanted to fight but he was smart enough to know that he was outnumbered. Magnus liked that as a higher officer and as a mech who loved law and order he appreciated any mech who knew their place but Knock Out was not some ignorant new build; despite not looking much older than Smokescreen; it was clear Knock Out knew much more than he let on. Some arguments he wished the Con would weigh in on, Magnus wanted to hear what the enemy might feel should they take a specific course of action. He wanted to know what Knock Out cared about if he even cared at all.

“Knock Out do you like it here, do you like living with us?”

“I like it better than dying.” He was so cold, he didn’t even bother to look Magnus in the optic as he spoke. Knock Out’s response dimmed Ultra Magnus’ spark but he was not sure why, he knew that Knock Out valued freedom so dealing the restrictions and constant supervision must be maddening to the young doctor.

“Don’t be so dramatic, you don’t have to stay if you are unhappy I am sure Megatron would take you back. There aren’t many Decepticon medics after all and you only defected after he died I am sure he could see it as some strange act of loyalty, not wanting to follow anyone but him or what not.”

“Ultra Magnus do you see a Decepticon brand on this chassis, have you ever seen one? Megatron knows I hate him. I’m here because I don’t want to ever be tossed into a sack and dragged off against my will ever again!”

“So you were a neutral at some point. How new of you Doctor finally opening up to me.” It was quite common for neutral medics to be kidnapped and be passed through camp to camp since like Deception medics there were only a few of them. This caused a lot of tension between neutrals and was a major factor of their destruction. Knock Out laughed, dark and chilling.

“Did I say I was a neutral. Just because I didn’t agree with either Optimus or Megatron doesn’t mean I didn’t want change or was too afraid to fight for it!”

During the beginning of the great war as the Autobots began to lose and as Megatron grew more vicious many smaller factions emerged. Many of them were nothing more than resistance groups. More devoted than true neutrals who didn’t or couldn’t find it in themselves to help fight for either side but knew full well that they disapproved of both the factions and the senate entirely. Some of the subspecies like the beastformers had long ago put aside their differences and had fought together as their own faction by the end of the war. Most of these smaller factions were quickly eliminated by Megatron or just the chaos of the war and the dying of Cybertron and the mechs who were in them perished along with the name so it was a rarity to find bots who had once served in them. Strange it would seem that he was the one hindered by drink and yet Knock Out was the one talking. Did the Doctor think he was too drunk to remember the conversation?

“Who did you serve before Megatron then, what brand did you wear Doctor?”

“Now now Ultra Magnus, you’re being greedy. Are you not happy simply knowing that I was not always a disreputable scoundrel of a mech, can’t you feel safe in knowing that I too have suffered thanks to the Decepticons?” Magnus couldn’t hold back his laughter, loud and bitter, some of the minor factions were worse than the Cons themselves. Not to mention whether or not Knock Out was forced to help the Decepticons he had still done terrible things and had no remorse for doing them.

“At least tell me how you ended up with the Decepticons.” Magnus watched a smile spread across Knock Out’s face. It was so faint and genuine, there was something terrifying about it.

“Now that is a long story Magnus and I’m getting tired.” Knock Out stood and swept all of the scattered parts into a pile and placed them in a small bucket. He made a quick label for it and Magnus’ spark crackled at the sight of his own name written in Knock Out’s beautiful script. He wrapped what he had assembled in some cloth, placed it next to the bucket, and made his leave. He was perfectly content to ignore Magnus still standing in the corner as if he wasn’t even there, as if this moment had never happened but there was no way Magnus was going to get rest knowing that he had Knock Out in a talking mood and knowing he had only gotten one scrap of info out of the mech. As Knock Out passed him Magnus grabbed the medics wrist and yanked him back. Fire bloomed behind the Doctor’s optics and he stared Magnus down with a sneer on his face. “I thought we discussed this.”

“I could use a good story to initiate recharge.” The smile returned but this time it was phony.

“Now we’re getting to the real reason for this little surprise visit. At least try and woo me with your best line.” Knock Out pushed his chassis flush to Magnus and ran a slender digitip through one of larger seams of the trucks thigh. He looked up at him with dimmed optics. “I am sure a mech as articulate as you can come up with something quite stunning.”

“I don’t want to recharge alone and it’s so cold tonight.” Knock Out hummed in agreement and pressed his face against the warm metal of Ultra Magnus’ abdomen. The large mech was still very charged up.

“Subpar but it will do.” Knock Out slipped his wrist from Magnus’ now lax grip only to intertwine his digitips with Magnus’. He relished the tiny warbling gasp the leader let out from such a small action. “Lead the way.”

The wind was still howling as the pair walked through the halls to Magnus’ room but the sound was drowned out for Magnus by the crackling of his own spark as he felt Knock Out’s talons scrape gently at his waist as they walked. This was for information only, INFORMATION ONLY but his body didn’t want to listen to his processor at the moment.

Magnus’ room was the boring standard of Nemesis quality rooms unlike the others who had put a little personality into their rooms over the months Ultra Magnus had not bothered. Even the berth was still the standard cold slab of metal. Knock Out scrunched his face at the sight. There was no way he was going to let Magnus into his own quarters but maybe there were some things in storage. WIth most Decepticons being aerials who preferred standard form to alt mode when recharging the Nemesis had acquired quite a supply of pads and support blocks and since the ship flew at such high altitudes and the thermal regulation of the ship had been busted for eons, thermal sheets. None of these things were really necessary for him as a car but it was always nice when sharing one’s berth. “I’ll be right back.” Magnus tried to rebutt but the medic was already gone down a hall by the time Magnus’ energex addled processor processed Knock Out’s actions. It took Knock Out two trips but it was plenty worth it, interfacing on hard berths with a mech twice ones size never ended well the morning after. Magnus groaned as he sat down on the padded berth his sore joints welcoming the small comfort.”See how nice things can be if you learn how to adapt. I know living here isn’t ideal but there are plenty of things you could have done to make it better. You could have even just asked me and I would have done this for you sooner.”

Magnus laid back on the firm support block and stretched out his legs sighing softly the strain from the day’s work finally hitting him. Knock Out hummed a muted laugh and took the leaders relaxing as an invitation. He pulled himself onto the berth and climbed on top of Magnus straddling the mech’s hips. Magnus felt an equal amount of energon rush to his faceplate as it rushed to his crotch, Knock Out was quick to tease the seams of Magnus hips wanting to get right to the point. “It’s been a long hard day for you Commander, so if you open up for me I can make all your aches and pains melt away.” Magnus was sure Knock Out was indeed very good at that and if he were a few more drinks in he could imagine himself foregoing his initial objective but that was not the case. Magnus prided himself on being a mech of higher standing so despite the alluring display Magnus picked Knock Out up at his waist pulled him up and then rested the medic in the crook of his arm.

“I told you I wanted a story not a show.” It was Knock Out’s turn to blush as Magnus maneuvered him into a more comfortable position before pulling him close. It was somewhat difficult with Knock Out’s tires but fitting perfectly in the crook of Magnus arm the medic was enveloped by the bigger mech’s heat and comforted by the heavy presence of the truck’s servo resting on his hip. Knock Out buried his face into the space between them trying desperately to hide his embarrassment. So the leader only wanted to cuddle Knock Out was perfectly fine with that because Magnus had been right it was far too cold to be sleeping alone. Magnus grabbed one of the thermal sheets from the end of the bed and pulled it up around the two of them. “So now Doctor, how did you end up with the Decepticons.”

“I stole something from Megatron and he wanted it back.” That was not a very long story at all but it left much to be explored. What could have been so valuable to Megatron that he would need to dismantle an entire resistance faction just to get it back? Magnus waited hoping Knock Out would continue to talk but the Doctor had gone silent.

“What did you steal?” There was a very long pause but eventually Knock Out answered.

“Menasor.”

“What?” Magnus leaned over and looked down at smaller mech already slipping into recharge in his arms. He shook him gently but Knock Out was already gone only moaning softly in response.

He thought on what the Con had said and what he knew. He knew from Bulkhead that Breakdown and the rest of the Stunticons had chosen to help the Decepticons instead of dying by their servos. They suffered being science projects and were eventually handed over to Swindle to command them and for a small while they were quite the terror, then Menasor went silent for a while before showing back up again. Except this time he was different, not the stupid bumbling monstrosity he had been before but instead he had purpose and direction. The Autobots had always assumed he had gained a sixth member to even out the team and then went rogue but they hadn’t really played with the idea that Megatron had given him a new handler so they certainly would have never come up with the idea that another faction had somehow gained control over him. Thinking back on it now, it all made quite a bit more sense for it to have been Knock Out controlling the gestalt all along. Menasor attacked everyone and everything, mostly looking for supplies and despite Superion's attempts to eliminate the gestalt he always came back sometimes better than before. In that time period he had even attacked other Decepticon gestalts and Decepticon bases. Still none of that got Magnus any closer to figuring out which faction Knock Out had been apart of!

He fell back over and sighed, a slight pressure already starting to build in his processor. Knock Out’s tiny engine purring at his side was a nice distraction from knowing that he was going to hate himself once the sun rose. This mission to gain information had been a bust and he was going to have to take an extra long cold shower in the morning but Magnus was willing to put up with that. He hadn’t been lying when he told the medic he didn’t want to sleep alone. It sort of filled him with pride at how quickly Knock Out had slipped into recharge around him, he didn’t want the little Con to be afraid of him. Still maybe that wasn’t a good thing, if Knock Out didn’t at least see him as a bit of a threat, he might not respect him. As he mentally organized a list of all the possible factions the young medic could have been apart of, Magnus slipped into recharge.

Magnus onlined with a start at the blaring of his internal alarm, he tried to sit up but found that something was weighing him down. Not enough to hurt but enough to be concerning, he looked down to find Knock Out. The medic had tangled them together during the night, slender legs tightly clutching one of Magnus thick sturdy ones. Sharp talons curled into a gap on his chest plating. Magnus felt his spark began to thrum in worry, he could not remember how he had gotten here. He remembered talking to the Doctor about his past and he remembered taking the Doctor to his room but that was it. What if he had forced himself on the young medic? Most Decepticon medics were used to obeying all commands from their higher ups on pain of death and some Cons had very wide definitions of what “medical treatment” was. Of course Knock Out was the CMO so he had a little more call on the matter and Knock Out also had a little more spinal strut than most medics in general but Knock Out did things to please others and Magnus had been so controlling. He shook the medic. “Knock Out wake up!”

Knock Out emitted static, it had been a bad couple of cycles and this had been his best recharge in a long time he didn’t want to wake up from it. He curled his talons tighter and groaned hoping it would deter whomever was shaking him. The ground jumped back, or least it attempted to and the shaking continued. “Whaaaat…”

“How did you get here?”

“Don’t you remember Magnus we had so much “fun” last night?” Magnus didn’t like how upset and deadpan the medic said the words, what if he had hurt the young Doctor?

“I am so sorry Knock Out. I know I may give you a hard time but I truly never intended to cause you any harm.” Magnus didn’t know what to do, Knock Out didn’t seem to be very angry but that could have just been his Decepticon conditioning.

Knock out laughed and pushed himself off of Magnus so the leader could sit up and rolled onto his front, pulling his arms up he crossed them and rested his head on top them. “The only thing you “harmed” was the door to the med bay. You will have to fix that. Well that’s not completely true you did hurt my feelings a bit when you accused me of building a drone specifically honed to eat Autobot sparks.”

That confused Magnus, if he had gone into the med bay to yell at the Con how in the stars did they end up interfacing? “Are you making a fool of me Knock Out did we even do anything last night?”

“Well you broke down the door, accused me of trying to kill you, then you sat and stared at me while I worked on building your new servo, then you decided to try and get some information out of me but I got tired so I tried to leave so you asked me to go to bed with you. So I did.”

“So we did-”

“I offered but you just wanted to cuddle. Which I am perfectly fine with, I prefer it actually but I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed. The times when my processor won’t calm down I enjoy a good hard surge to knock me out but you put me to sleep nevertheless.”

“Why did you-...You never have to do anything you don’t want to Knock Out, even if you think it will get the result you want. I know I can be stubborn and I know I make my opinions obvious through my actions-”

“That we can both agree on. I’ve never met a mech who has wanted to frag me just as much as he wanted to throw me out of the window. Seriously you need to learn to live a little. You can have fun with a mech you don’t trust. Believe me I’ve fragged Lockdown and he’s tried to sell me as an exotic pet once.” That left Magnus speechless for a moment. “I don’t know what you think my life has been like but I can assure you these talons are not just for show. I only do what I want. I went with you because I knew you just wanted more information but you Autobots are terrible liars so when you said you didn’t want to sleep alone I knew something was wrong….I went with you because I didn’t want to sleep alone either.” Knock Out crawled over and pulled himself onto Magnus lap, resting his chin on the trucks chest. The action had to have been the most intimate thing the Doctor had done all night at least in Magnus opinion. The Doctor’s optics were still dim with sleep his engine still at a soft soothing rumble. “So tell me Mangus why didn’t you want to sleep alone last night?”

Magnus couldn’t look at the young Doctor it was one thing to have an ex-Con as a doctor for physical wounds but to let one help with mental ones, the mech would have to be crazy! Still Magnus felt his spark surge at the Doctor’s caring. “How are you so cold? He’s only been gone for a year and you are already willing to move on to another. Bulkhead said the two of you were so close one would think you were bonded with him, were you? I don’t know if that makes your lack of caring worse or not. I know you come from a different mindset but even still. He’s been lost for almost a century and I tell myself everyday that he’s gone but now that we’re finally at peace I can’t help but beg that I am wrong.”

“We all mourn differently Magnus but I can’t mourn someone who's not gone. I assume you’re talking about Rodimus is he lost or is he gone Magnus?” Magnus didn’t know how Knock Out knew about Rodimus but he found he didn’t care, in fact it only made it easier for the leader to keep talking.

“That is a very spiritual way of thinking Doctor I envy your faith. Rodimus is still considered lost but the way he left he might as well be gone. There is no way he could have survived.”

“What happened to him?”

“We went down to help a planet of Cybernetic creatures they were suffering from the plague. Rodimus caught it and the medic on board had no cure. Ratchet...had no cure. He chose to leave with only one companion. Neither of them have made contact or have been heard from since.”

“Cosmic rust is a death sentence to most and a terrible way to die, I rarely turned away anyone who sought me out even if I hated them. If I had turned away Megatron I probably wouldn’t be here right now.”

“You said you stole something from him….why did you lie if the real reason was something so simple.”

“I didn’t lie I just didn’t tell you the whole story.”

“Tell me the story.” Knock Out looked for a moment as if he would but then he went quiet.

“Ask me nicer…”

“Please tell me the story.” Knock Out hadn’t expected the leader to concede so easily.

“I was widely known for being the best cold construction designer of my year. Despite being only a student my work and designs rivaled those of even the most skilled who had come before me. So during the war I did upgrades and I gleaned a rather extensive clientele. After some time I found a place where i could stay put for awhile. Being a skilled scavenger I didn’t let the war impede me from my studies. It was easy to get one servos on books on all sorts of things. I brushed up on medicine and healing seeing as I was all by myself It was necessary that I knew how to keep myself alive. It wasn’t hard after all I was already building entire mechs from scratch. Eventually one day I stumbled upon a scraplet swarm but they had been living in an abandoned building with nothing but rusting corpses to feed on. Seemed the little monsters prefered rust because they completely ignored me. Needless to say I was intrigued so I took them home with me along with some fuel for them. I studied them and then made more, I wanted to use them as defense to keep unsavory mechs from hurting me but at the time I couldn’t have lived with myself knowing I had put a mech through that kind of torture. One cycle when I went to trade I came upon a mech whose sister had come down with cosmic rust they said the Decepticons were using it as trap for the Autobots but of course it hurt other mechs as well. She had been scavenging and the trap went off in her face. It had only been a day since the accident and she was already missing most of her face and even some of her skull, not to mention the other parts of her that were being eaten away. I told the merchant that I wasn’t a healer but I might have had a cure. I told her it was unorthodox but it was better than nothing. She begged me to help her sister. At first she was frightened and accused me of being a lunatic but after I showed her she calmed down. My scraplets cleared her right up. We waited two cycles to see if it was truly gone and with no change I fixed her up sprayed her with a rust resistant coating of my own design and left. After that incident Mechs came to me in droves,Autobots, Decepticons, Refugees, everyone. I have been to more places by being carried in a sack than I have driven to them. I told mechs my secrets but none of them listened. I was called a good mech a legend to most even though they didn’t know me. I was not a good mech even back then but that didn’t mean I was cruel.

One day I find a giant dying in the sea of rust and to my surprise when I get close they released a blast of steam and when it cleared there were five mechs. I take them home and they tell me they were left there to die. Nothing more than a failed experiment that the Decepticons had no use for, but young sparks always get mad when someone else finds use for something they had thrown away. So when Megatron saw me on top of Menasor unafraid, having just taken down the giant Autobot thorn that had been in his side he made me an offer and I spit in his face and went home. He tried his best to kill me but I stayed determined. Years pass, Cybertron died, so I adapted and moved on. Living on a scavenged Decepticon Medship that had been decommissioned because of a cosmic rust outbreak. Then one day I get a message from Lockdown, I had mechs that needed feeding so I had hired him and Swindle to help me get my name out there only Megatron found it. I didn’t turn him away initially because I held no grudges and he hadn’t even been a thought at the back of my processor and I helped anyone who had the credits. One of his traps had come back to bite him in the aft, Starscream convinced the crew to mutiny him. So alone and dying he found his way to me. When he saw me and my Stunticons oh the look on his face, he got on his knees and he begged. Not many mechs can say that now can they Magnus. I should have turned him away, I should have tossed him back out the airlock but I didn’t and I paid the price. I healed him up and in the middle of the night he murdered my crew, everyone but me and the Stunticons….and I let him. I was so young and…. so tired…. and we were all starving anyway. They were dying anyway and I couldn’t take the wailing. He wanted the Stunticons back and he wanted me. I told him I was a nobody just a mech who had learned a little of everything with a pair of skilled servos to put it to some use. He said he didn’t want me for my skill he wanted me for what everyone thought I was, a rebel terror who was loved by the mechs who couldn’t fight for themselves. So he made me a deal, he said it would be a shame to murder such a pretty young face he asked me to be his CMO and his second in command he even asked if I wanted to be his lap warmer. He was still so cocky back then and I kind of liked it about him. I told him “what an honor” and he laughed and then I saw the look on Breakdown’s face. He would have rather died, they all would have. They had become proud again and if they hadn’t been chained to deck they would have snuffed him. So the minute he turned around I attacked him...I knew all of his weaknesses but I had been starving for so long. He chained me up and took me back to the Nemesis.

Megatron had left but the plague had raged anyway so when they saw me and Megatron all shiny and new they too got on their knees and begged and I told them to die, again and again, cycle after cycle. So they kept me locked up. The other medics tried to use my scraplets but the crew were too afraid and ended up killing most of them. Then one night Soundwave came to me, tears in his optics and he begged because his cute little twin minicons were being eaten alive by rust. He sat there and begged for hours till I finally said yes. Since nobody knew my name and I had often changed up my look when I was younger no one believed Megatron when he tried to use my name to get more followers but I was still a great medic and I knew all of his secrets and boy am I something to look at so the crew loved me. Eventually me and my boys got away and Megatron was too far gone at that point to care. Then Starscream called me and said that Megatron was dying and asked if I wanted to finish the job and I said yes. That’s how I ended up with the Decepticons. I’ve never worn a brand Magnus other mechs wore mine and they paid for it , for blindly following a mech with a kind enough spark who wasn’t afraid of the big strong mechs destroying the world around them as they fought for what each of them thought peace was.” Knock Out’s optics had gone dim with his story over but Magnus' spark felt as if it was going to explode. It had taken all of his willpower to not interrupt the Doctor after the moment he had realized.

“Knock Out, Rodimus left because Ratchet told him that there was a medic who had a cure but he didn’t know who or where he could find him. So Drift contacted Lockdown and took Rodimus to to find them. Knock Out...do you remember him do you have any recollection of him at all? Please try and think back!”

Knock Out groaned even in just the last century there had been thousands of mechs looking for his help and with wreckers constantly tailing him and the Stunticons so much of his life was a blur. “I’ve been beaten and tossed into so many things too many times Magnus my memory…..is terrible because I never had the time or the patience to just sit down and fix everything.” Knock Out watched the light die in Magnus’ optics, he weaved his talons between Magnus’ digits. “But I’ll check my files, I always fix those it just takes so long to go through all of them.” Knock Out went silent for a while as he searched... the silence was maddening. “I’m sorry Ultra Magnus I don’t have any file for him, that doesn't mean he didn’t make it though I told you I didn’t keep the cure a secret some other brave medic could have started using it…..” Magnus had stopped listening his spark turning cold. It wasn’t the Doctor’s fault, Rodimus had been far along he might have died before they had even made it. The doctor was still talking but Magnus couldn’t define the words till something struck light lightning. “.....The closest thing I have is some stupid mech named Hot Rod and I only remember that slagger because he wouldn’t stop hitting on me so Breakdown was pissed and-” Magnus lips were suddenly pressed firmly to Knock Out’s own silenceing the doctor from rambling on any further. The kiss only lingered for few seconds before Magnus pulled away and instead pressed the medic’s face to his chest holding it there as tears dripped down his face.. “Uhh do you know Hot Rod?” Knock Out tried to free himself from the rather painful grip but he was having little success.

“Was he young and foolish with the most gaudy paint scheme Cybertron has ever seen?” Knock Out freed his head from Magnus grip and looked up to see the bigger mech in tears.

“He was orange and red but his personality was as gaudy as they get if that counts for anything.”

“What happened to him Doctor?” Knock Out rested his head back onto the top of Magnus' chest and tried to recollect what had happened.

“Him and his friend said that their ship had been totaled so I let them stay with me for a bit then we got fuel at some bar and I think they saw me helping out some very mean Cons because I waited for them and they never returned.”

This was the first news Magnus had heard about Rodimus in over a century and it was definitely good news but hearing it didn’t change how he felt about Knock Out. He was just as conflicted as before. That somehow felt wrong to Magnus somehow, it felt rude, Knock Out deserved more.

“Doctor thank you, but... this doesn’t change the way I see you. I have always seen you as a conflicted mech which is why you are so untrustworthy. You are so selfish but at the same time so caring and that is why despite everything you think I find you one of the cruelest beings. You have shown the capacity for such great kindness and I have heard the horror stories the wreckers have told about you. There is no pleasing you, no gifts or bribes that can sway your favor. You spew sweet words even as you plan murders. Despite all that I’m still drawn to you and I am disgusted by myself for it. I can never trust you but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to and seeing as I owe you, is there anything I can do to repay you for the peace you have brought me.”

Knock Out laughed something short and soft. “That’s wise of you Magnus.” Knock Out was quiet for a long time and Magnus was sure the Doctor had slipped back into recharge. “I enjoyed sleeping with you Magnus could we do this again?”

The doctor said it so coldly, his voice so tired and monotone that Magnus' spark surged in worry for a moment. He had never heard Knock Out sound so sad. “Of course Doctor, it is my duty after all to keep watch over you at all hours. Maybe tonight you can even tell me another story.”

**Author's Note:**

> honestly I wanted the second chapter of this to fulfill my 10 year old fanfiction.com selfs dreams by making Knock Out some scary demon monster who had like a cult because he was scary but protective so people like wanted to follow him. Then they found out he was a monster who liked to eat sparks because he was hit with like a meteor that had a chunk of dark energon in it so it like corrupted his spark but it actually just turned his spark like into its own weird universe which is why he felt so hallow all the time because he needs other sparks to fill his sad lonely universe spark but its cool because since Knock Out doesn't eat sparks for fuel like Sparkeaters mechs are better off letting Knock Out eat their sparks since it dosen't kill them it actually just gives them like a second chance because now there just walking around with like a psudeo spark and if they get killed Knock Out has their real one and can just fix them up and put them back in. Which is why he didn't really care about Megatron killing all of his cult members and why he's not that sad that breakdowns dead. The catch is if Knock Out dies he can use his little universe sparks to come back to life but he doesn't get to choose which one so he's terrified of getting hurt because he doesn't have that many left and one of them is breakdown and somehow Magnus finds out and is like just bring him back I know your a weird monster and i want you to be happy but Knock Out cant because he loves Breakdown too much and if he brings him back to life hes afraid Breakdowns going to just die again and he'll be gone forever so he rather just keep him inside his own weird universe spark where he's safe. Then I realized that might be too 10 year old me so I just think I'm going to leave it one chapter


End file.
